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Electronic music
Electronic music is a blanket term used to describe music that generally is made using electronic instruments (such as drum machines or synthesizers) and is rarely organic-sounding. It is sometimes mis-refered to as "Electronica" or "Techno." While Techno is a style of electronic music, it is hardly an appropriate term to classify the entire supergenre as. Electronica on the other hand is a term for electronic music that came into popular use, but is considered by some to be a media buzz-word which doesn't really mean anything http://www.di.fm/edmguide/edmguide.html. Another common mistake people make when thinking about electronic music is that it is all Electronic Dance Music or EDM for short. However while EDM is one subgenre of electronic music, there are many other subgenres as well. History of electronic music 1890s and the early 20th century: The beginning The first occurence of music being electromechanically produced was in 1897 with Thaddeus Cahill's Telharmonium. However, Mark I of the Telharmonium weighed 7 tons, and Mark II weighed almost 200 tons so it was considered impractical http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telharmonium. It was, however, noted for it's ability to reproduce common instruments. Another early electromechanical instrument created circa 1919-1920 is Leon Theremin's self-named Theremin. The Theremin retained popularity throughout the 1960s and was featured in many songs that aren't generally considered "electronic." Yet another early electronic instrument is the Ondes Martenot, created by Maurice Martenot in 1928. It is still used to day, notably by the band Radiohead. 1940s-1950s: Post World War II After World War II, many artists and composers began experimenting with using different sounds and noises to make music. It was considered to be an avant-garde form of art and gave birth to electronic art music and Musique concrète. 1960s-1970s: The beginning of mainstream acceptance One of the defining events that led to electronically produced music gaining mainstream acceptance was when Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire of the BBC special sound effects unit created the theme music for Doctor Who in 1963. The Beatles and The Beach Boys along with many other popular artists both were known to use electronic synthesizers in thier music. Dr. Robert Moog came out with his first Moog synthesizer in 1964, and in 1971 he came out with his famous Minimoog Model D which was a hit with the mass market, and helped popularize synthesizers even more. Many rock bands, began using synthesizers in thier music even though rock and roll is not considered to be a style of electronic music. The notable electronic band, Kraftwerk, appeared in the 1970s as well. Electronic music had started to become popular. Late 1970s and the 1980s: An explosion of mainstream acceptance In the 1980s, analog synthesizers were replaced by digital synthesizers and by the middle of the decade, samplers became affordable. Thus, popular music began to rely more and more on electronic equipment and whole new styles and bands emerged. The 1980s witnessed the birth of industrial music, electronic body music (EBM), dub music, synthpop, electronic dance music, and even the beginnings of techno music. External Links *Wikipedia's page on electronic music *Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music Category:Electronic music